


Divergent Perspectives of the Lady of Nordion

by Skelezomperman



Category: Fire Emblem Series, Fire Emblem: Seisen no Keifu | Fire Emblem: Genealogy of the Holy War
Genre: Angst, Beo/Lach only in Chapter 1, Beo/Lach/Finn without cheating in Chapter 2, Cheating on Beowulf with Finn in Chapter 4, Cheating on Finn with Beowulf in Chapter 3, Drama, Drama & Romance, F/M, Family, Finn/Lachesis happy ending in Chapter 5, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Hurt/Comfort, Implied/Referenced Cheating, Remarriage, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-17
Updated: 2020-11-02
Packaged: 2021-03-08 22:55:43
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 3,511
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27054529
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Skelezomperman/pseuds/Skelezomperman
Summary: Five self-contained vignettes of Lachesis, each one in different scenarios of her relationships with Beowulf and Finn.
Relationships: Beowolf/Finn/Raquesis | Lachesis, Beowolf/Raquesis | Lachesis, Finn/Raquesis | Lachesis, Leif Faris Claus/Nanna
Comments: 7
Kudos: 20





	1. A Broken Marriage

Sigurd’s army was marching on towards Grannvale. It was scorching hot, as if the sky was looking to burn them, and the sand slowed the horses carrying them to a crawl. Among the many horseback knights moving at the speed of turtles was a gruff looking blonde man dressed as a mercenary with a sword and a shorter, blonde woman in more formal dress.

“We’re nearing the end, aren’t we, Beo?” said the woman.

“Yeah, but...I dunno, Lach, somethin’ feels off around ‘ere…” replied her husband.

Many of the people in Sigurd’s army had felt that something was off. They had sent off all the children with them, including Beowulf and Lachesis’ own son Diarmuid, to Isaach, but it was only temporary - they’d get them back once the war was over. Yet there still was an element of uncertainty in the air. Nobody had really spoken of it at this point other than the young thief boy that was in their army...until of course they heard the terrible news of Quan and Ethlyn having been ambushed in the desert. 

“Is it about what happened to Quan and Ethlyn…?” asked Lachesis. 

“It’s not just that, but-”

“Beowulf, we can’t give up! Not now!” shouted the princess. “If we do, we will not only be failing ourselves but everyone around us! We’d be failing their memories!” 

They continued to slowly inch forward on their horses no faster than a procession would go. 

“We’re so close to winning the war! And then we’ll go get Diarmuid back from Isaach, settle down in Nordion...raise our children there in the new peace…” It had only been a few nights since Lachesis had revealed to Beowulf that she was pregnant with their second child. 

Beowulf just continued to stare out into the distance. Something was clearly bothering him.

“Beowulf…”

He turned his head around. “Look, Lachesis. I really dunno what’s gonna happen next, but I don’t think it’ll be good. If something happens t’me, I want ya to go to Leonster fer me. Finn’s still there wit’ Quan’s kids, yeah? Help ‘em out now that those kids have no parents.”

“No! You must never say such things! If I have to go to Leonster, you’re coming with me!” retorted Lachesis. Something was bothering her in the back of her mind, and it was coming through her words - not as love, but as anger.

Beowulf stopped and looked down at the sand, sullen. “Lachesis...I don’t think I’ve done right by ya.”

Lachesis froze as if time had stood still.

“I knew how ya really felt all along…”

“...Oh!” she exclaimed, as if the wind had been knocked out of her. At this point she finally made the realization that the flame between them had burned out - that the only thing attaching her to him was their children.

“Look after yerself, Lachesis. This was fun while it was lasted.” Beowulf then turned around and started riding off towards the east.

Lachesis turned her head, and facing him shouted “Wait! Beowulf!!!” But even after shouting that, knowing that she truly did want to have him as a father to their children even after coming to the hard realization that there was no passion left in her for him - she found herself unable to chase after him.

  
And so was the last time that Lachesis would see the father of her children.


	2. Rekindling the Flame in an Ocean of Tragedy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lachesis has come to Leonster and copes with the death of her husband Beowulf, father of their son Diarmuid, with the help of Finn...

Spring had arrived in Leonster, and the flowers were blooming. It was as if the land was starting to heal after everything that had happened over the past year: the collapse of the Kingdom of Isaach, the massacre at Belhalla which killed Lord Sigurd and much of his army, and of course the Aed Massacre which resulted in the deaths of Leonster’s Crown Prince Quan, his wife Ethlyn, and their young daughter. Since then, Leonster had been in a state of suspense as to whether Quan’s killer, the King of Thracia, would attempt to seize the weakened city. Surprisingly, there had been no attack from the mountainous south - just silence since that fateful event. But plans were still being drawn up to defend the city in case such an attack were to come, and not just the city but Prince Leif, the infant son of Quan and Ethlyn and grandson of King Calf.

At the forefront of those plans was Finn, the loyal knight whom was entrusted with protecting Leif by Quan himself. Finn was sitting at one of the tables in the courtyard of Leonster castle having afternoon tea with his close friend Princess Lachesis, one of the few people who survived the Battle of Belhalla. In the past it would be an unusual occurrence for him to take a break for something so frivolous, but Finn recently had been spending a lot of time with Lachesis. Today they were discussing defense plans for the city.

“You still remember how to use a bow, yes?” Finn asked her. 

“Yes; I remember that I used my bow in the desert to help against those dragon knights,” responded Lachesis. “Even if I am partial to the sword, I am a master at the bow just like with any other weapon.”

“So you would be able to support the archers if Travant attacks? We have a shortage of capable bow users, so any help works,” explained Finn. 

“Indeed...anything to protect Leif. Never will I break my promise to Beowulf...to make sure that I can help out Leif and protect him...” Lachesis looked sullen, and understandably so given that her husband was almost certainly dead and their son was sent off to a remote corner of the continent.

Finn got up and put a hand on his friend’s back. “It is difficult to overcome the loss of a loved one…” He thought of his own loss, how losing the man whom he considered his mentor and the woman who acted as a big sister to him punched a hole in his heart.

  
Lachesis looked down. “Yes...it has been too difficult. After everything with Beowulf, the Belhalla disaster, and Grahnye giving me the cold shoulder when I tried to see Ares..."

She paused in thought and then looked up at him. 

"...Finn, thank you.”

Finn blushed; he was perplexed by this sudden compliment. “For what, my lady?”

“For everything. Nobody else here has acted so warmly to me...I really do not know where I would be if you had not arranged for me to be taken in here, if you had not provided me company.” Her cheeks reddened a bit. “But enough of that. I’ve been meaning to ask you something.”

Lachesis grabbed Finn’s hand. “Finn, will you take me as your wife?”

Finn jerked his hand away, his face as red as a tomato. “Excuse me?! Are you serious, my lady?” Wh-”

“Just call me Lachesis now. Please.”

“-Lady Lachesis, what about Beowulf? Would doing this not break your marriage vows with him?”

  
Lachesis took Finn’s hand in hers again. “Beowulf would want me to be happy and taken care of. With you, I can have companionship for the rest of my days rather than wallow in sorrow. So I ask you again: do you wish to marry me?”

“...Lachesis, I always had feelings for you ever since I first set eyes upon you, but I set them aside knowing that you were happier with Beowulf. This is like a dream for me, but would it be pro-”

“Yes or no?” interrupted Lachesis, impatient for a response.

“...Yes, Lachesis. I will become your husband. I know I will never truly replace him, but I will serve you - no, I will love you as much as you deserve.”

They stared into each other’s eyes for what felt like an eternity - not just as friends anymore, trying to overcome the loss of each other’s loved ones, but as lovers.

“...I love you, Finn.” She went in to kiss him squarely on the lips, the first of many kisses to come.

It would be a couple weeks later when they exchanged vows in one of the chapels in the castle in a private ceremony, attended only by a few members of the royal family and Finn’s best friends. And in spite of the circumstances of Lachesis having truly loved someone else in the past...it worked out. At least, as long as Leonster remained at peace.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In the last chapter I kind of "debunked" a pet peeve of mine with regards to how people discuss Lachesis: the claim that her conversation in Chapter 5 automatically means shows her having feelings for someone else in particular. In that imagining of her conversation with Beo, it merely showed her having lost interest in Beowulf rather than having eyes for someone else like Finn or Eldigan like many people interpret her "true feelings" being. This chapter I move on to another pet peeve: that Lachesis marrying Finn after Beowulf's (presumed) death means that she cheated on Beowulf. No, here I show that it's okay for her to have remarried; her doing that doesn't show a lack of fidelity towards Beowulf. Nanna isn't born yet either - in this scenario, she would be Finn's daughter and thus only the half-sister to Diarmuid. 
> 
> I wanted to sneak a couple FE5 characters (specifically Glade and Selphina) into the ending but I felt that it would have prolonged it too long. We'll certainly see an FE5 setting in the next chapter though...


	3. The Confrontation at Fiana

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Finn and Lachesis are arguing about whether Lachesis going to Tirnanog to get back Diarmuid is the wisest idea.

It’s a hot summer day in Fiana, Grann year 771; the kind of day where one could use a knife to cut through the humidity. This day was strange for the normally peaceful town as one could hear the sounds of two people arguing. Strolling briskly through the town towards the stables was Lachesis, stubbornness written on her face, being pursued by the legendary lancer Finn. 

“Lachesis, please, you cannot leave - it’s too dangerous!” shouted Finn.

“Diarmuid needs his mother! I will not continue to fail him any longer!” pleaded Lachesis. 

For years the thought of Diarmuid being in Tirnanog having never grown up around his parents weighed heavily on her conscience. Lachesis felt terrible every time she thought of it - that she had sent him off along with Edain, Oifey, Shannan, and the other children instead of taking him to Leonster. Sure, she had reunited with her husband and had a daughter with him, but her son was always missing from her heart, the son whom she had not seen in 10 years.

The two had been at it for over an hour by this point, and they were attracting the attention of all the other townspeople. It was as if the entire day paused, waiting in anticipation to see what would happen.

“At some point Lachesis, we just have to resign ourselves to the realities…” responded Finn as he stared blankly into the distance. He, too, had his priorities: to raise his lord Quan’s son and posthumously accomplish his lord’s dream of uniting Thracia into one. Those had been the only goals that he had in mind ever since he first heard about what happened at Aed all those years ago, and he never allowed himself to be distracted from it. “We’ve all had to make sacrifices of our own-”

“Don’t talk about that sacrifice bullshit again! I’ve heard enough of it! None of this should have to happen. None!” Lachesis arrived at the stables and stopped at her horse; she then began loading her belongings onto it. She knew that Finn would let nothing get in the way of his ideals yet hung onto the vain hope that he would also abide by their vows they made ages ago back in Agusti, “‘Till death do them part.”

Watching from in front of her house opposite the stables was the famed mistress of Fiana, Eyvel. A younger blonde child walked up to her as the two continued to argue.

“Miss Eyvel, what are Mommy and Daddy doing?”

“Little Nan, it’s...it’s nothing.” Eyvel was clearly disturbed by the argument that was taking place. She wished her friends would just hash it out instead of getting in this short-sighted squabble - especially in front of their daughter. “Let’s go back home and play some hide and seek with Mareeta,” Eyvel said as she started to lead Nanna by the hand into her house. She was interrupted though by a raising of voices and turned around to look.

“Finn, this is final. I’m going to get our son - please, PLEASE just come with me! Leif and Nanna will be safe here with Eyvel!” begged Lachesis, as determined as she could.

“If you want to get yourself killed in vain to get that bastard son of yours, then fine! HAVE IT YOUR WAY! But I’m not abandoning my promise to Lord Quan for someone else’s kid!” 

One could hear the gasp of many followed by a piercing silence.

“I.. I can’t believe this...Goodbye, Finn.” Lachesis then got on her horse and stirred her horse up to trot out of the town.

There was no visible response on Finn’s face, the thousand-yard stare seared into it. He did not turn his characteristic blank gaze even as Lachesis began riding away from him and as some of the townspeople, Eyvel included, looked at him disapprovingly.

A singular tear was streaming down the face of Lachesis as she left, but not once did she look back or slow down her pace. Instead, she continued on, determined to reunite with her son. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We know that Finn and Lachesis's final separation in Fiana was a bit rocky. In his conversation with Nanna in FE4 Chapter 7, Finn seems to not want to talk about it and in FE5 Chapter 9 Selphina says that Finn was "cold" to Lachesis. This is my imagining of the scene but with something extra added in: that Diarmuid was Beowulf's illegitimate son as a result of Lachesis cheating on Finn with him. It's uncharacteristic of Finn to react so angrily, yet if there ever were a time for him to do so...
> 
> Really, if there was anything I was aiming for in particular with this chapter, it was to show that both Finn and Lachesis made mistakes. Finn for being stubbornly attached to his lord for better or for worse (here, for worse), and Lachesis for being stubbornly set on going on that dangerous journey. Neither of them are completely in the right.


	4. Guilt

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lachesis thinks of her regrets on her trip to Tirnanog to get back her son...

“Hyaah!”

The princess turned master knight sunk her sword into the dark mage. She then withdrew it, letting the dark mage drop dead to the ground.

“Heh...another one down. Lucky that I caught him before I got hit,” she said quietly to herself. Loptyrian mages, of course, were a danger in the desert.

Lachesis continued her journey towards the north. She drove her horse forward mindlessly and soon once again was drawn into her thoughts.

“How I have failed everyone…”

She looked up at the golden sun, the sun that burned the same color as her dear brother’s hair. The brother whom she had failed to convince to come to their side, the brother who was beheaded by the corrupt King Chagall. 

“Pfft!” she spat angrily into the harsh wind; it brought a momentary reprieve from her thoughts before she went back to her anguish.

For months afterwards, she had drowned in her sorrows about her brother’s death. But now, those sorrows were naught but anger at herself for her impotence at getting her brother to listen to her just once.

She noticed to her side was an oasis and started going towards it for water. The oasis...the dark blue oasis meeting the dirty blonde desert sands. And how that reminded her of two people...

“Gods…” she whispered, looking up as if she wanted to curse everything.

She recalled how she had married the mercenary Beowulf, her brother’s friend. She knew that he would be a strong husband for her, someone who could support her all the way…

And yet she was too weak to overcome the split in her heart. How she had slept with the blue haired knight of Leonster the night before they left as the heat between them had flared up...what a terrible mistake that was when she realized weeks after the fact that she was with child.

Lachesis got off the horse as she got to the coastline. She picked up a handful of sand, just staring at it as it filtered out of her gloved hand.

“Oh, Beowulf… Finn...”

She felt at the time that Beowulf had at least a suspicion that Diarmuid was not his, yet she didn’t know for sure until he had left her. The fact that he only blamed himself twisted the knife in her when he left; it was unjust for him to blame himself for her mistake, she felt. After that, when the terrible events at Belhalla happened, she fled to Leonster and married the man whom she had truly loved. But even after officially eloping with Finn, after having a second child with him...she never forgave herself for her perceived moment of weakness. 

And so she got out her flask and walked slowly towards the coastline to get water for herself. She knew that despite all of this, she had to get Diarmuid. Not just for Finn and Nanna’s sake, not just for her own sake to reunite her family, but for the sake of Beowulf.

But then, she felt something. She was hit by a dark magic spell. Afterwards, she turned around drawing her sword to see the infamous dark bishop Manfroy.

As she stepped towards him, she realized that this wasn’t your normal dark magic spell which tortured their victims with a burning sensation. No, her body was being frozen into stone - literally.

Maybe this was her atonement for her mistakes, her weaknesses. But she felt that she had to go down fighting - it would be against everything she stood for not to. She swung her sword out towards Manfroy in a desperate attempt to bring him down with her just as her transformation into stone was completed.

“A fine specimen of a crusader..it was futile for her to try to kill me, but the useless effort makes for a good decoration.” said the archbishop as he prepared to warp himself with his new statue back to the Aed Shrine. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this one is the first (and only) chapter where Lachesis is by herself, and we see a viewpoint into her thoughts in this weird scenario where she cheats on Beowulf with Finn. She certainly does have a lot of regrets in her life...
> 
> Also, ignore that there's no oasis anywhere to be spotted in FE4 Chapters 5 or 7. I needed it for literary purposes. Maybe it's an illusion conjured by Manfroy, but I'll leave that up to the reader to decide.


	5. Happily Ever After

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lachesis and Finn have a moment during their daily life to reminisce about their time together.

It was a cool autumn day in Leonster castle: the sixth day of the week, when most of the bureaucrats and nobles who would normally be pacing the halls of the castle were instead relaxing at home. There wasn’t much stirring in the castle this afternoon but if someone wanted to see a sign of life, they could visit the reading room towards the central part of the castle. In the reading room enjoying the warmth of the fireplace was an older, middle-aged man clearly of noble status reading a book from his rocking chair to two children sitting on the ground.

“And then…” The blue haired man puts the book down as he is interrupted by the boy in front of him.

“Grandpa Finn, how much longer is it going to take!”

The pink haired toddler squirmed, full of energy, much like his father used to do when he was younger. He couldn’t wait to hear the end of the story. Next to him was his blue haired sister who silently looked up to her grandfather attentively.

“Not much longer, just be patient Dorius,” responded Finn. He silently wished that Dorius could be more calm like his sister was.

“And then, Lady Sarah used her Kaia Staff to un-stone her.”

“What happened after that?” asked Alfiona, quieter than her raucous brother. The elder grandchild also was impatient to hear the end of her grandfather’s story although she was more polite about it than Dorius.

“After that your Grandpa Finn and I lived happily ever after,” finished a voice from the outside.

Standing in the doorway were two majestically dressed blonde haired women, one with hair longer than the other. Anyone in Leonster could recognize the shorter haired woman as Queen Nanna, the troubadour who was wed to the king; the other of course being her mother, the ever graceful Princess Lachesis.

“Mother!” said the two children. They ran to their mother and hugged her while Lachesis walked over to Finn’s chair.

“How was going out to the market with Nanna?” asked Finn.

Lachesis exhaled sluggishly; she was clearly worn out by the trip. “I’m just grateful that we’re all back together like this,” she sighed. The princess slumped her shoulders and started to look downwards, downtrodden. 

She thought about the hell that they all had been through during the war...how she had, with Finn’s approval, travelled across the desert to retrieve their son only to get turned to stone. How regrettable, how shameful it was that everyone, Finn included, fought valiantly against the Loptyrians under Emperor Seliph while she was helpless, turned to stone. 

Finn put a hand on her shoulder. “Lachesis…” 

  
As soon as she felt her husband’s touch, she looked up at him, still a bit fatigued. “Hm?”

  
“Don’t blame yourself for everything that happened. None of it was your fault.” Finn said this in a soft voice, out of earshot of their grandchildren.

She realized that she was still dwelling on her years spent as stone. Woken out of the trance, Lachesis then affectionately wrapped an arm around Finn and sat on his lap.

“Finn…” she whispered into his ear. “Do you still remember when we were younger back in Silesse and you helped me to go on with my life like how Eldie would have wanted me to?” The memories flowed back to him, of his months of attempting to get Lachesis to do anything in spite of her stubbornness - the extremes he went to complete his mission of turning a white rose red.

“I do,” he responded back, his gaze brightening a little. “Do you recall after you came back to us when you helped me to stop dwelling on what happened to my Lord Quan and my Lady Ethlyn?” Lachesis was reminded of Finn’s bouts with depression in spite of their victory in the war; how he would sit in his room, staring emotionless thinking about nothing but how his lieges had died - how she had to at one point slap him on his face to get him to snap out of it. 

She looked up at him into his eyes and returned his loving gaze. They truly completed each other - if nothing else, the fact that they had both helped each other overcome their challenges was proof of that.  
  


“I love you, Finn. Never forget that,” she whispered in his ear before they shared a quick kiss. 

“Ew! Grandma and Grandpa have cooties!” blurted out Dorius. Everyone in the room laughed except for Finn and Lachesis who blushed in embarrassment. 

And just as that storybook that Finn was reading said, they lived happily ever after.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I just had to show my favoritism here with giving them a good ending; Lachesis was un-stoned and brought back to life, Finn gets to spend his days with his family (including his two grandchildren!) and overall, there's not much more either of them can ask for given that very few people in the first generation got to live period... (It's also not mentioned here, but both Diarmuid and Nanna are Finn and Lachesis's children.)
> 
> But more than anything else, this chapter shows off what I like the most about pairing the faithful knight Finn with the stubborn princess Lachesis: they complete each other. Not just in that Lachesis gets a faithful knight like her brother, but in how they counteract each other's flaws - the scene from the Oosawa manga which was referenced here especially shows that. And on the opposite side, I thought of the scenario of Lachesis returning the favor, having to break Finn out of depression as he dwelled on the failure of his loved ones to live. I suppose that this is a jumping off point for a fanfiction of its own (like various other points in this fanfiction), but that can wait.
> 
> And with that, this fanfiction is complete. Thanks to everyone for reading it, and I hope you enjoyed it.

**Author's Note:**

> If you frequent Reddit, you know that I publish a (ongoing) series of writeups about different characters. I got the idea during this series when I was writing my essay on Lachesis to create a fanfiction which showcases different scenarios of her "infamous" variety of shipping options, specifically those involving Beowulf and Finn. This first chapter of course is set during Chapter 5 on the final march to Belhalla, and in this scenario Beowulf is the father of both Diarmuid and Nanna; Finn does not show up during this chapter but don't worry, he gets at least mentioned in all of the remaining chapters. Hopefully you've enjoyed this chapter so far and are ready for the rest of the fanfiction.
> 
> Special thanks to Dreaded_Prinny and SubwayBossEmmett who both looked at this at various points in development and helped me improve on it.


End file.
